


Minor Arcana: The Suit of Cups - or the Uk Roadtrip

by Andromalius



Category: Supernatural
Genre: BAMF Dean, BAMF Sam, Bromance, Dean doesn't approve of the lack of Impala, Drabble, English mythology, F/M, M/M, Road Trip, Sam knows his shit, Short One Shot, The Winchesters tour the UK, fairy mythology, hunters on the road, many random hookups will no doubt occur, monster hunting, th Winchesters are good bros, the author lives in the UK
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-23
Updated: 2016-01-23
Packaged: 2018-05-08 18:54:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5509283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Andromalius/pseuds/Andromalius
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A series of shorts and drabbles based on prompts drawn from the tarot cards in the suit of Cups and revolving around Sam and Dean's epic bromantic journey through the UK. There will be pookas and fairies and knockers and kelpies and selkies and the nucklelavee, bad pub food, pies and mushy peas, curry and chips, terrifying roads, bed and breakfasts with maternal landladies, Scousers, Glaswegians and potentially the Fringe festival.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Ace of Cups - House of the True Heart, Familial Love

“Dean, _slow down_.”

“We’re only going seventy, Sammy, keep your hair on.”

Sam gripped the side of the car tightly enough that his knuckles flared white. It felt unnatural to be on the left and not be driving. It felt even more unnatural to be _driving_ on the left of the road. He kept seeing the car ebb over to the right in his mind’s eye and it was _not_ helping with the situation. “I can’t see the – _Dean that’s a goose._ ”

“A what?” hard braking, a screech of tires and an indignant squawk as the large white bird hopped into flight mere inches away from a terrifying death. “What the hell is a goose doing on this road?”

“There was a sign back there that had a white bird painted on it,” Sam said, peeling his fingers from the car door one at a time.

“And I was supposed to just know that meant ‘watch out, giant birds may attack your car?” Dean jabbed irritably at the radio and muttered under his breath as yet another version of the BBC ticked over and started playing. It seemed to be a commentary on local politics. Dean looked mutinous.

Sam hunched lower in his chair and eyed the GPS warily. They didn’t generally need one but they’d gotten lost five times so far and the roads were now misty and wet as well as surprisingly dark. However the GPS had done nothing but tell them to go left since they’d driven away from Land’s End. He thought it might possibly be possessed.

“It’s trying to kill us,” Dean agreed. “We should exorcise it.”

“I don’t want to get salt on it, we paid far too much for that thing.”

“It wasn’t exactly our money.”

“Still.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes more. The goose flapped gently down to the road and honked at them. Dean honked back and started the car.

_Drive 700 yards and turn left_ the GPS said cheerfully.

“I’ll shoot it,” Dean said. “Where’s the gun?”

“In the back. I’m not getting out to fetch it for you.”

“This one thing, Sammy. This _one thing_.”

“I love you, Dean, but that goose will kill me.”

“Fair.”

_Drive 700 yards and turn left._

“Son of a _bitch_.”


	2. Two of Cups - Balanced and Equal Relationships

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chelsea is a very very obscure and tiny reference to a dear friend of mine who lives in Oxford - the only similarity being his passion for drag. This chapter happened when I was researching Oxfordshire ghosts and my flatmate and I started discussing the tendency for corpses of bad guys to be less-than-buried-whole over here. Napier is a real legend of a ghost in Oxford and the opportunity to give Sam and Dean a difficult UK case to deal with was too much to pass up!

**Oxford**

Dean stood outside the car with his hands in his pockets. Sam rather suspected this was a coping mechanism that was the only thing preventing Dean from starting to throw punches as their chatty new friend (known at this point only as Chelsea) explained in some detail just exactly _why_ the ghost known as ‘Napier’ roamed the streets of Oxford.

Sam had yet to figure out if Chelsea was a woman or a man – the signals were very confusing and he was tired and _holy hell the ghost was coming up for a third go._ Chelsea made a noise like steam escaping a kettle (and it was disturbing Sam that he’d been in England long enough that this was his _first_ comparison) and leaped out of the way as Dean swung his fire-iron almost absently at the screeching apparition.

They’re discovered pretty damn quickly that England took a slightly dimmer view of firearms than America did.

“So, you’re telling me that this thing – this _Napier_ – has been scattered around the walls of the city. In pieces. _Plural_.”

“Yes,” Chelsea said, dusting off the skirt of her (her? Sam was going with her as Chelsea was obviously presenting as female at the moment so that seemed the appropriate pronoun) frock. “It’s hardly uncommon. Historically speaking the division of a criminal to either display parts of the corpse on the town walls, or just ensure a messy death and uneasy afterlife was quite common. It’s said that Napier there is still looking for his head so that he can continue his dastardly deeds.”

Dean made a strangled noise. “ _Plural pieces_.”

“Yes. Haven’t you seen Braveheart? That’s a relatively good example right there.”

“It was a film with a _Scottish Mel Gibson_ in it,” Dean swung his fireiron again, Chelsea gracefully stepping back to allow him to disintegrate the ghost once more. “ _No one_ could expect me to take it as a history lesson!”

“I don’t suppose you happen to know where the body pieces were buried?” Sam asked.

“I’m afraid not. I’m not exactly a history student.”

“Your country is _crazy_ ,” Dean said in tones of deepest dismay. “Mushy peas, _kippers_ and now _this.”_

As they stood, the two of them and the drag queen, watching a headless ghost circle around for another blind rush and knowing that the first _three_ burial sites they’d uncovered were only the beginning of their troubles – Sam couldn’t help but agree. England was _absolutely insane_.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I'm doing a writing challenge based on the Tarot deck of cards to help me a. cement the meanings of the cards in my head and b. explore the characters and world of Supernatural. In the Cups series I'm going to be doing a series on the Winchesters touring around the UK! I love UK mythology and I've always kind of wanted to see what Sam and Dean would make of it so I'm exploring that here. 
> 
> Wands will be exploring various crossovers (which may spawn other stories if I find them inspiring enough)  
> Swords will be fairytales interpreted Supernatural style.  
> Pentacles will be a series of Wee!Chester and pre!series shorts.  
> The Major Arcana will be longer pieces inspired by prompts that take my fancy. Look over there for Frog!Cas and an Office!AU romance.


End file.
